A suspect accused of shooting and wounding three 20-year-old men of Palestinian descent in Vermont was ordered held without bail Monday morning. Jason Eaton, 48, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder in the second degree in the shooting that wounded the three college students who were attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington.
Wearing an inmate’s uniform, Eaton appeared in court remotely Monday morning on a large television screen set up near the defense table. He said little during the brief court appearance, confirming his name when asked by the judge.
The judge said bail would be revisited at a later date.
Eaton was arrested Sunday afternoon by agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Kinnan Abdalhamid, Tahseen Ahmed and Hisham Awartani were all shot Saturday night while walking down a street.
Two of the men were wearing traditional Arab keffiyeh scarves, and authorities were investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime.
According to their families, Abdalhamid is a student at Haverford College, Ahmed is a student at Trinity College and Awartani is a student at Brown University. They all attended Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-run private nonprofit school in Ramallah in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.
“As parents, we are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot in Burlington, VT. At this time, our primary concern is their full recovery and that they receive the critical medical support they need to survive. We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children,” the parents said in a joint statement.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.  Â
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